Read about Bessie Stringfield, an African-American motorcyclist who road the open road in the 1930s! “At the age of 19, young Stringfield flipped a penny onto a map of the US then ventured out on her bike alone. Interstate highways didn’t yet exist at the time, but the […]
At Diabolique, Heather Drain writes about the Devil in American music. “Rock & Roll might still be the bogeyman to repressed, misguided fundamentalist types, but it wasn’t the first modern musical genre to get labeled “the devil’s music.” During the 1920s, Jazz was branded with that very same […]
The Gutter’s own Keith has a mai tai at Honolulu’s La Mariana Sailing Club. “At first you might think you’ve taken a wrong turn. Somewhere between the H1 and Nimitz Highway, you must have missed something, because here you are, closer to the airport than the beach at […]
David Bordwell writes about Shaw Brothers Studios particular use of the widescreen format in film. “The Shawscope blazon opens onto a world of one-armed swordfighters, beautiful woman warriors, and kung-fu masters with very long white eyebrows. Without denying the peculiar pleasures of these sagas, we can peer behind […]
Smithsonian Magazine discusses the dangers to children parents saw in Little Orphan Annie. “These days, when Annie is known mainly as the little girl who sang brightly about ‘Tomorrow,’ it may be hard to picture her radio series as the Grand Theft Auto of its day. But the […]
Open Culture. has images and discussion of J. R. R. Tolkien’s art. And they have links to see more at The Tolkien Gateway. “Beyond perusing the images in the Tolkien Gateway, you’ll also want to have a look at Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull’s book, J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist […]